One of the tasks of Latvijas Banka is to advise the Saeima and the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia on monetary policy and on aspects of economic policy that are associated with Latvia's participation in the euro area, and on other issues related to the work of Latvijas Banka.
In 2023, officials and staff of Latvijas Banka held regular meetings with members of the Saeima and the government of the Republic of Latvia, for which they participated in meetings of the committees of the Saeima and the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia, and in the work of several committees and working groups established by the government to give opinions on financial and economic development.
After analysing the prospects for economic growth in Latvia, Latvijas Banka advised the Saeima and the government on the development of Latvia's economy and other issues in it, such as matters related to taxes, social security, education policy, the second pillar of the pension system, and the pension basis model, and issues relating to Riga's competitiveness and human capital development.
Latvijas Banka also continued to analyse the role of Latvia's financial sector in the economy by continuing an in-depth discussion with financial sector participants and policy makers on lending trends, the factors underlying them, and future developments in Latvia, and by providing an opinion on the proposal to support households against rising interest rates. Latvijas Banka conducted a study of the causes of low customer mobility in Latvia in switching mortgage providers, and developed proposals for how to facilitate mortgage financing, which included drawing up proposals for amendments to regulations in cooperation with other responsible institutions.
Employees of Latvijas Banka participated in various working groups and professional organisations, sharing their experience and providing them with advice and support, including on
- economic forecasts;
- government expenditure and the programming and uptake of EU funds;
- the development of the financial sector, including segments of it like FinTech companies, credit unions, pension funds, crowdfunding service providers, or the capital market, and financial services;
- financial literacy and reducing financial fraud;
- critical financial services;
- the prevention of ML/FTP;
- the availability of
Experts from Latvijas Banka also made proposals and provided support in the process of drafting legal acts and amendments to them that regulate these areas.
Employees of Latvijas Banka continued to participate in their capacity as experts in the Working Group for the Preparation of the Notification of the General Government Budget Deficit and Debt chaired by the CSB, compiling the notification data for the general government budget deficit and debt for 2022 and dealing with the methodological issues related to the compilation of these data.
Experts from Latvijas Banka provided support to the government to enable Latvia to take an active part in the EU and the OECD, and ensured the exchange of information with international rating agencies.
Latvijas Banka organised various training sessions in 2023 for representatives of government authorities and the private sector.
- To improve the knowledge of judges about the nature of financial law and to deepen their understanding of the meaning and application of financial law, a series of seminars for judges who examine cases related to financial activities was organised in cooperation with the Latvian Judicial Training Centre.
- To facilitate the availability of financial services for the defence sector, training sessions on the standards for preventing ML/FTP and the requirements for providing financial services were organised for businesses in the defence sector and credit institutions.
- Training and consultations on the basic operating principles of the financial sector and the requirements for internal control systems were held for the Department of Combating Economic Crime and other public institutions.
- Topical issues in the supervision of the application of sanctions were explained to members of the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the changes and trends in cross-border payments were also explained in the context of sanctions requirements.
